Nyabuto trial day 6: DPS officer describes reconstructing fatal crash scene

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Day six of the trial of Daniel Nyabuto began with testimony of Chad Martin, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who conducted the crash reconstruction.

Nyabuto is charged with intoxication manslaughter in the 2022 death of Deputy Lorenzo Bustos, who was in the final stages of his training with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office.

Martin said that Nyabuto’s vehicle was traveling, at minimum, 36 miles-per-hour at the time of the crash. The impact moved Bustos’ Tahoe 19.3 feet, creating a skid mark on the ground. Nyabuto’s Mercedes moved 15 feet after the impact and left no skid marks.

Additionally, data from the airbag control module in Nyabuto’s vehicle showed that it was traveling 65 mph 5 seconds before the crash, and 36 mph at the moment of impact. It showed that Nyabuto applied the brakes, but not to what extent.

The data also showed that Nyabuto changed the positioning of the steering wheel 12 degrees in the seconds before the crash. Martin was asked if he would describe that as “evasive action,” to which he replied, “No sir.”

The speed limit on that portion of the highway is 55 mph, meaning that Nyabuto was speeding prior to the crash.

Martin testified that there were “no line of sight issues” on the night of the crash. He said the deputies vehicle would have been visible from at least 600-700 feet away, and a person driving at 65 mph would need only 311 feet to come to a complete stop including normal reaction time. The state asked if Martin believed a sober person would have been able to avoid the crash, and Martin said yes.

Video was shown of Martin recreating the scene while driving at 65 mph on Hwy 155, and changing lanes as he approached the parked vehicle with its lights flashing. The defense argued that Bustos should not have been in the roadway behind his vehicle with his back facing traffic. The state replied by saying that intoxication manslaughter offenders do not need to be aware of the victim’s presence to be guilty of the crime.

Martin further testified that there were no “line of sight” issues on the night the of the crash and said Bustos’ Tahoe would have been first visible anywhere from 600 to 700 feet away. He said that a normal person driving 65 mph would need 311 feet to come to a complete stop, including perceived reception reaction time. He said he believed a sober driver would have been able to avoid this crash.

However, the defense argued that the cars that drove by during the accident may have never actually seen Bustos in the roadway, countering that Bustos should not have even been in the roadway, beside his vehicle, with his back to traffic. Martin said his investigation estimated that Bustos was standing between 8 and 15 feet behind his vehicle at the time of the crash.

The state argued that in cases of intoxication manslaughter, the offender does not have to be aware of the victim’s presence.

5 p.m. update:

Former Tyler PD Digital Forensics Expert Dennis Matthews was brought to the stand by the state and testified that he obtained warrants for Nyabuto’s cell phone records. Michael Fegely, founder of Cellx Analytics, testified that he analyzed the phone records of Nyabuto and his brother from the night of the incident.

The cell phone records showed that Nyabuto was in the southwestern area of Dallas earlier that night, and he traveled to Tyler within the general area of the Breakers restaurant, arriving around 10 p.m. The state also presented data that placed Nyabuto at Where’s Rufus? on the night of the incident.

Previous testimony resulted in a disagreement over whether Nyabuto was actually at Where’s Rufus? The defense said there was a lack of video and witness evidence to place Nyabuto there, but the phone records, which Fegely conceded were not “precise information location,” appeared to show the brothers near the bar on the night of the crash. The records also showed the two driving on Hwy 155 minutes before the crash.

The defense attempted to cast doubt on the validity of Fegely’s methodology.

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